by Laura Walz City of Powell River council is known for its long meetings, which generally happen at the committee-of-the-whole, where discussion is unscripted. City staff have been trying since February to arrange a professional development workshop for councillors just on holding effective meetings. The workshop was scheduled a few weeks ago, but was cancelled at the last minute because some elected officials were unable to attend.
Councillors discussed whether to try to arrange another date or just drop the idea at the May 16 committee-of-the-whole meeting. The discussion took over 20 minutes and brimmed with frustration, confusion and, at times, comedy. The irony of the conversation was not lost on observers.
Council’s ineffective meetings are compounded by its schedule. It holds committee-of-the-whole meetings on the same day as council. Committee-of-the-whole meetings have gone on for three, four and even five hours. In the months preceding finalizing the five-year financial plan, budget committee meetings add to the number of meetings held during the same day. Council regularly goes in-camera and the closed portion of the meetings can last even longer than the open meetings.
After three hours, meetings start sliding into a downward spiral of ineffectiveness. Councillors and staff start to lose their concentration and attentiveness. Since council doesn’t have a policy about the use of electronic devices during meetings, most of the councillors are also multi-tasking throughout the meetings, which leads to more lack of attention and more delays.
As well, the current schedule gives council the ability to consider issues and make decisions before those issues are widely known or understood in the community. Issues from committee meetings are regularly sent to that night’s council meeting. Most often, council puts an issue on a fast track because it is time sensitive, but it’s a dangerous habit, because the public has no chance of knowing about an issue before council makes its decision.
City staff have been anticipating which motions might go from committee to council meetings on the same day and have been including those items on the council agenda. The agenda is posted on the city’s website generally a week before a council meeting, which gives the public an opportunity to see those proposed items. However, not many people regularly check the city’s website and many who do have difficulty finding documents, like council agendas.
Currently two weeks, and sometimes three depending on how many Thursdays are in a month, pass between a referral from committee and a council vote. If council and committee meetings were held one week apart, issues would be dealt with in a more timely way and there would be a better flow of the city’s business.
Both councillors Myrna Leishman and Russell Brewer have attempted to change council’s schedule by bringing forward resolutions to that effect. But even with Councillor Maggie Hathaway’s support, the resolution has failed and council’s schedule remains the same.
If councillors can ever agree on a day in the fall to attend their professional development session, they may want to reconsider their schedule at the same time, as it contributes to the overall ineffectiveness of their meetings.
Laura Walz is the editor of the Powell River Peak and has been reporting on city affairs longer than she likes to admit.
